The present invention relates to shelf supports that may be used to support shelves between oppositely facing upright members such as cabinet side walls, and, more particularly, to reinforced locking shelf supports having increased load-bearing capacity.
Brackets that support shelves inside cabinets, bookcases, and the like, and permit the shelves to be readily adjustable have been known for some time. However, the shipping of cabinets with internal shelves presents a problem. With shelf supports that do not also positively retain or lock the shelf in place, the jostling or shock that the article of furniture receives during shipping and handling can cause the shelf to bounce around within the cabinet and damage the cabinet. Even when cabinets are not shipped with shelves installed in place, it may be desirable to lock the shelves in place within the cabinets to prevent jostling and dislodging of the shelves and damage to the contents of any shelf positioned beneath the shelf that is so dislodged. Additionally, the forces exerted on the shelf supports during movement of the cabinet may exceed the forces experienced during normal usage, particularly in instances when the shelf is not positively retained in its proper position.
Various shelf supports having a retaining mechanism to maintain the shelf in position have been proposed. Examples are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,666,117 to Taft; 4,432,523 to Follows; 4,053,132 to Del Pozzo; 3,471,112 to MacDonald et al., and 4,037,813 to Loui et al. However, these shelf supports generally have drawbacks in their ability to securely lock the shelf in place, accommodate usual variability in shelf length, and/or provide sufficient durability. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for improved locking shelf supports.
Shelf supports are provided that may be used to support shelves between oppositely facing upright members such as cabinet side walls. In embodiments of the present invention, the shelf supports comprise a body member, a finger, a shelf flange, a stem holder and a stem. The body member may include a lower body portion and an upper body portion, where the upper body portion may have an inner opening formed therein. The shelf flange may extend from a front face of the lower body portion, and the finger may extend downwardly from adjacent the top of the opening in the upper body portion towards the shelf flange. Typically, the finger is dimensioned to be collapsibly received within the inner opening. The stem holder includes a cavity for receiving at least part of the stem, and at least part of the stem extends from a back face of the body member so that it may be received within an aperture on the wall to which the shelf support is to be mounted. In use, the back face of the body member may be placed adjacent one of a pair of opposing walls that are to support the shelf. The stem may be formed of metal or some other material capable of withstanding large forces, and may be configured to be received with an aperture in the wall to hold the shelf support in place on the wall. The shelf flange is configured to receive and support an edge of the shelf that is to be disposed between the opposing side walls. The finger may be used to exert a downward force on the top surface of the shelf to lock the shelf in place.
In other embodiments of the present invention, the body member may include an aperture adjacent the stem holder, so that a portion of the stem may pass through the aperture into the cavity in the stem holder. In these embodiments, the stem holder may extend from the front face of the lower body portion of the body member, and the top of the stem holder may engage the a lower surface of the shelf flange so as to reinforce the shelf flange. The shelf support may be formed by injection molding a polymer material so as to partly or fully encase the metal stem, and the portion of the stem so encased may include a head having a cross section larger than the cross section of the remainder of the stem so as to firmly lock the stem within the stem holder. The shelf support may also include one or more reinforcing gussets connected between the lower body portion and the underside of the stem holder.
Methods of making shelf supports according to the present invention via injection molding techniques are also provided.